Unique Radiator Mascots Personified the Great Classics

from Hemmings Classic Car

Certain styling cues helped observers identify the great American and European Classic motorcars of the 1920s and '30s. Another way that Classic motorcars could often be identified was by their distinctive radiator mascots.
A unique radiator mascot was available for nearly every motorcar built during the Classic Era. There was no mascot on the L29 Cord, but a modest one remained on the Marmon Sixteen. Even the Chrysler Imperial Airflow, with its radical "waterfall" front, carried a distinct mascot.
(I've mentioned to fellow car enthusiasts that two items were almost always removed from a car prior to its demise: the radiator mascot and the owner's manual.)
Radiator mascots are generally divided into two categories: factory mascots and accessory mascots. In the early years of the motorcar, mascots were strictly an accessory item; manufacturers didn't offer them. Rolls-Royce introduced its famous "Spirit of Ecstasy" in 1911--but they were the exception.
Having noticed, I'm sure, how popular the accessory mascots were with motorcar owners, automobile manufacturers began offering factory mascots in the early 1920s. For example, Edsel Ford, president of the Lincoln Motor Company, approached Gorham Silversmiths in 1923 to design a radiator mascot for the Lincoln. The result: a greyhound, which was used through 1940.
Other automobile companies--foreign and domestic-- followed suit. Not surprisingly, the luxury motorcar companies' mascots were usually created using higher quality metals such as bronze or silver. Medium- to lower-priced automobiles generally featured mascots made of what's known as "pot metal," which was sometimes used to manufacture carburetors and water pumps. As most car collectors know, this metal does not hold up well over the years.
Concurrent with the emergence of the radiator mascot was the adoption of the Boyce Moto-Meter, a simple accessory that mounted on the radiator cap and indicated engine temperature to the driver. In some cases, a mascot could be used with the Moto-Meter, but more often, the driver had to choose between the two. Interestingly, the Moto-Meter Company eventually offered a temperature gauge that mounted on the steering column.
Some radiator mascots, once introduced by American automobile companies, remained unchanged during their lifetime, such as the Wills-Sainte-Claire goose. Others evolved over the years. The Packard "Goddess of Speed" went through several changes, as did Cadillac's "Goddess." The Pierce-Arrow archer was another mascot that evolved through time.
As noted earlier, the mascots used on luxury cars were usually manufactured from higher quality metals; the European mascots were especially luxurious. Among the more memorable radiator mascots that appeared on European cars were the Minerva variations, the Hispano-Suiza stork and the Isotta-Fraschini "Triomphe." The Mercedes-Benz three-pointed star is still with us today, and the company recently resurrected the Maybach mascot.
Most radiator mascots were manufactured from metal, but there were exceptions, most notably the magnificent glass mascots created by Rene Lalique, a French jeweler and designer. Today, they rank among the most beautiful mascots ever made.
Of course, the original idea behind the radiator mascot was to personalize one's automobile, to add that special touch. The factory mascot, no matter, how beautifully designed and constructed, didn't always satisfy an owner. In that situation, there were plenty of choices--hundreds, in fact.
Those choices ran the gamut from the beautiful to the comical. Mascots ranged from Charlie Chaplin to a soldier bayonetting a German soldier, and from a Kewpie doll to a Labrador Retriever--and a lot in between. My wife, who was quite an athlete, once bought a woman jumping the hurdles.
Perhaps my favorite accessory mascot is "Old Bill," a World War I soldier with a huge walrus mustache. It's made of bronze and spent many years atop my 1923 Locomobile radiator and now rests in the same place on my 1922 Lincoln.

This article originally appeared in the November, 2011 issue of Hemmings Classic Car.